


Aftercare

by threerings



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Boyfriend Cuddles, First Time Blow Jobs, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, Taako has some emotional reactions to work through, he's had a rough day, surprisingly frank conversation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 02:53:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13824966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/threerings/pseuds/threerings
Summary: Taako didn't expect himself to fall apart as soon as his boyfriend, the skeleton, walked out of a portal.  And yet.





	Aftercare

**Author's Note:**

> I started this almost immediately after I finished listening to the balance arc for the second time, and there was originally going to be more, but then a few months passed and it didn't happen, so...here. This stands alone.
> 
> CW for depiction of a panic attack/anxiety attack towards the beginning of the fic. It's fairly brief, and leads to healthy conversation, snuggles, and smut, which I think makes up for it. But Taako has been through some fucking emotional shit and I felt like there would be fallout, even if it's Taako.

After the Story and Song, after the Hunger had been defeated, after a confusion of celebration and much-needed healing, Taako found himself entering his home back on the moon base alone. Magnus had disappeared somewhere with Carey and Killian and he’d left Merle behind in the tavern where they’d gathered in the immediate aftermath. Merle had been snoring peacefully on a table, so Taako had thought it best to leave him. 

He’d been offered one of the tavern’s rooms himself, but felt an urge to seek out his own bed. He didn’t know why that had seemed so important an hour ago, but as he let the door fall behind him he wished he hadn’t bothered. He was utterly exhausted, the strain of the last few days hitting him now that the danger was passed. He felt stretched thin, barely able to keep himself together long enough to get this far. 

As he made it to his bedroom, he stripped his clothing off carelessly, letting the ruined items fall to the floor. The silence of the dorm and the base felt oppressive. He found himself perversely wishing for company, when he’d claimed he was seeking solitude. In truth, he knew there was one person in particular he wanted to see. His face had come to Taako’s mind repeatedly in the last few hours and he’d caught himself looking around, as if he might catch a glimpse of Kravitz somewhere in the crowd. Which was stupid, because he was definitely busy. But Taako was tired enough to admit (to himself, at least) that he desperately wanted to see Kravitz right now. Just to know he had survived, though it wasn’t exactly likely that he hadn’t. 

And perhaps that’s why he’d come back here, in case Kravitz came looking for him here. Not that he’d ever seemed to have trouble finding Taako when he needed to. Still.

Taako briefly felt a longing for a long, hot soak in the tub, but he knew he didn’t have the energy to actually draw a bath. So he felt into his bed in his underwear, wrapping a sheet around himself and instantly falling into a dreamless sleep.

The next thing he knew was a tearing sound, and it was a sound that was familiar enough to pull Taako out of his deep slumber. He blinked at the rift appearing near the foot of his bed, his split-second of alarm fading into a sleepy smile as he recognized the skeletal hand emerging from the opening in space. 

Kravitz stepped through, flesh covering his bones as he did, and the flames of his eyes found Taako in the bed. “Oh!” he said. “Sorry. Did I wake you? I can leave you alone, if you want...” Taako was already reaching a hand towards him, shaking his head.

“Don’t you dare! Get your boney ass over here!” Kravitz closed the distance between them, coming to sit on the edge of the bed, their hands locking together as Taako sat up. Kravitz grinned at him sappily and Taako felt himself smiling back, feeling relief flood him as he felt the last piece slot into place. He threw his arms around the Reaper’s shoulders, pressing his face to his shoulder. Kravitz returned the embrace, squeezing Taako tightly in his strong arms. His hand stroked up and down his bare back, leaving trails of goosebumps in its wake and making Taako shiver. 

He released Kravitz and sat back slightly. “I was worried about you,” he said, too tired to come up with anything to say besides the truth.

Kravitz smiled. “Me? You were the one out fighting to save reality.” His eyes glowed with pride and warmth and Taako remembered the words he’d spoken earlier.  
“Well, yeah, but...you. You could have actually...died.” And as he finished the words he was assaulted by an image, from some alternate outcome. A world where they’d failed, where the Hunger had beaten them and they’d once more turned and ran. Where someone, Davenport maybe, had escaped with the Starblaster, and they’d all reappeared back on the bridge for the one hundred and first time. And the planes behind them would be swallowed up. And Kravitz with them.

“Taako...” Taako realized Kravitz had been trying to get a response from him, but the air had frozen in his throat, his lungs feeling crushed by the cold dread that filled him. His voice sounded as if it came from very far away, echoing weirdly. “Taako? Love?” Kravitz’s face looked worried, and Taako wanted to reassure him, but he couldn’t get the breath to speak. He focused on making himself breathe, ragged breaths in and out, his eyes not daring to look away from Kravitz’s face for fear it would make it real. 

“It’s okay, love, we’re okay. Just breathe, darling.” Taako tried to follow this instruction. _He loves me_ he thought in wonder. _And I would have lost that._ The vise grip around his lungs tightened, the pain spreading and he raised a hand to his chest, wondering at the real physical pain. _I can’t. I can’t lose him_ he thought desperately. And the crushing weight eased, though the pain didn’t entirely leave. He took a deep, gasping breath, sagging down, looking down to where Kravitz’s hand clutched his own, white-knuckled. 

“...sorry,” he managed in a small voice, and heard Kravitz exhale hugely. The Reaper ran his hands up and down Taako’s arms, his back, one hand cradling his face while Kravitz peered at him in concern. “I’m ok,” he insisted.

“What?...What?” Kravitz didn’t seem able to finish the question, so Taako shrugged sheepishly. 

“Sorry for, like, going all freaky on you, my man,” he began. “I just realized...well, you could have died?” Kravitz frowned, a hint of irritation and frustration showing through his concern.

“We _both_ could have died, Taako.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, but, like...” he trailed off, trying to come up with some way to avoid explaining what a big Thing had just happened. Then he shook his head. “Naw, fuckit. Look, I want you to understand this, ok? And maybe you _will_ understand it.” Kravitz nodded, face still confused. 

“Ok, so, like, you saw all that voidfish drama, right? The hundred years on the run?” Kravitz nodded again. “Well, like, imagine that from my perspective, right? Like, every year a new world, with new people, or almost people, or sometimes no people, but intelligent robots or whatever. And at the end of the year, boom, The Hunger, and they’re eaten by black goo. Or they aren’t but like a whole bunch of them die and we have to leave and run. So, yanno, after a while, like, what’s the fucking point?”

“Magnus never stopped caring. He kept trying to help people and help people survive, but, Taako? Yeah, you should know, that’s not my deal. Those people were as good as dead from the moment we landed. Walking, talking dust. So no point getting to know them, right? Caring about them? Yeah, no.” He paused and looked up at Kravitz from under his lashes to judge his reaction.

“Yeah,” said Kravitz quietly. “I...get that.” They shared a moment of eye contact.

“I thought you might,” Taako said just as softly. “So, anyway, point being, only six other people in all the planes of reality mattered to me at all. And even when I’d forgotten it all, when I didn’t know why I was that way--” His voice cracked. “-- I still couldn’t make myself care about anyone. Until...well, first until I met up with Magnus and Merle and, trust me, my dude, I didn’t understand why those two chucklefucks. And then I met you...” He looked up again, saw Kravitz watching him with a careful expression.

“You...” He swallowed, and tried again. “You were the first new person in a hundred years that I cared about.” His throat felt thick and he clenched his hand into a tighter fist to push against the emotion that waited to wreck him. 

“I mean, okay, it’s not like I thought about it like this at the time, but like, you were maybe...safe? You know, you were _dead_ and were hardly going to go out and get killed, so maybe you’d last? Fuck, I don’t know, I never made a lot of sense to myself, of course, that was apparently because I’d lost a hundred years of memories. Anyway, so, like, sure, we both could have died.” He took a deep breath, not quite meeting Kravitz’s eyes. “We could have lost and the Hunger would have consumed everything and the world would have fucking ended. Great, fine. But I just realized there was another option. If...” 

His voice broke and he found himself blinking rapidly. “If we’d lost but...one of us...got out on the Starblaster...I would have lived. And...this system, everything, would be eaten up again. Including...” He took one final breath to push against the pain in his chest. “...you.” And he made himself look up at Kravitz. He looked closer to tears than even Taako felt, and suddenly he couldn’t hold back anymore. “I couldn’t...I don’t think I could take that.” 

And he threw himself on Kravitz with a sob, tears falling hotly, only the other man’s arms holding him upright as he lost all composure and sobbed and sobbed. Despite what he’d said, he knew he wasn’t crying only because of Kravitz, but for every loss he’d suffered in the last few days. Remembering Lup, the impact of realizing he’d forgotten his sister for ten years, the pain of all those years of running from planar system to planar system, the terror and anger of the confrontations, even the joy of his reunions with both Lup and Kravitz, all of it poured out of him while the Reaper held him. 

He didn’t know how long it lasted, but the front of Kravitz’s shirt was wet with tears by the time he finally shuddered into quiet. As he finally pulled back Kravitz reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a handkerchief which he passed over. Taako eyed its perfect white crispness for a moment, a smile curving up one side of his mouth, and then he used it to try to get his face back into some order. 

“Fuck me,” he said as he finished wiping his tears. 

“If you want,” said Kravitz, who looked like he wasn’t sure about the reception his joke would receive. But Taako burst out in a laugh, the mopey atmosphere cracking around them. Kravitz looked relieved, joining in with a soft chuckle, and then hooking an arm around Taako’s shoulders and pulling him close again. 

Taako turned at the last moment and aimed for the other man’s lips, suddenly not willing to wait any longer to kiss him again. Kravitz sucked in air in surprise, but only hesitated a second before he was kissing Taako back, a hand coming to the back of his head and holding him in place firmly. This kiss was deeper than their first, more physical, their tongues sliding together and lips swelling from the force with which they were pressed together. Kravitz seemed to feel just as much desperate need as Taako did, a need to reassure themselves of the other’s solidity. 

Taako ran his hands down the front of Kravitz’s shirt, wishing it wasn’t in the way of touching his skin. The smooth, cool hands continued to touch him all over.

He broke apart from the kiss. “I need...” he said, reaching for Kravitz’s tie and making a mess of the knot. “Can I, please?” he asked, hoping Kravitz could read his meaning. 

“Yeah...” breathed the Reaper. “Yes.” Taako redoubled his efforts at ridding Kravitz of his clothes, but the other man caught his hands and stilled them. “Wait,” he said, and with a slow blink of his eyelids, all his clothing from the waist up melted away into dark mist. 

“Wo-ow,” said Taako. “Handy-ass trick. Not the pants, though?” he added with a smirk. 

“I didn’t want to presume,” replied Kravitz primly. 

“Oh, presume away, my man.” He pulled Kravitz further onto the bed, encouraging him on until he was stretched out on his back and Taako knelt over him. “But we’ll get there,” he added more quietly, bending down to kiss him while running his hands down the cool, dark chest. 

Kravitz’s skin felt warmer than he expected, though still cooler than his own. He kissed down the center line of his chest, then down further until he ran out of bare skin. He glanced up and grinned before lifting himself back up and fastening his mouth around one dark nipple, loving the gasping sound that came from above him. He rolled Kravitz’s other nipple between his fingers as he sucked harder. He savored the way his back arched as Taako’s hands moved down, exploring every inch. He couldn’t stop touching Kravitz, a need to convince himself of the other man’s reality driving him.

He slid down the well-defined chest, tracing along the lines of abdominal muscles with his tongue, circling his belly button, and then tracing just above his waistband. He felt Kravitz’s hips jerk up a bit in unconscious reaction and he looked up with a wicked grin. He placed a hand over the button of his pants, making sure the heel of his hand pressed into the bulge of the erection beneath the fabric. He quirked an eyebrow in a silent question and Kravitz nodded eagerly in response. 

Taako didn’t wait any longer, but yanked on the fabric roughly, tugging down the zipper and then pulling the pants and underwear beneath off in one quick motion. He was filled with need still, need to explore and feel and maybe claim the man beneath him as his own. He barely noticed when Kravitz gave a huff of laughter and the clothing still hanging on his ankles melted away. 

Because Kravitz was now naked beneath him and he looked so gorgeous it nearly took his breath away. It should be a crime for one man to look that good, he thought as his eyes traced up and down his length. 

“Taako,” murmured Kravitz, sounding both eager and a little uncomfortable. Taako imagined if he could he would have been blushing. Or perhaps he was and it didn’t show under his complexion. At any rate, Taako shook himself and focused his attention on the darkly flushed cock lying against Kravitz’s belly. He traced up its length with a finger, loving the way this made Kravitz shiver and moan softly. 

“Gods, you’ve got a pretty cock,” he breathed just before lowering his head down and engulfing said cock with his mouth. Kravitz’s back bowed up as he did, his hands reaching for him and grasping at him, one landing in his hair and one on his left shoulder. He set to work eagerly, taking almost all of the length into his mouth and using his tongue as much as possible. 

“ _Fuck_ ”, groaned Kravitz. Taako made an appreciative sound around his cock, then kept humming just to enjoy the other man’s reaction. As he continued to suck he noted the little ways Kravitz differed from his previous partners. His skin was cooler, certainly, but after the initial few moments, his cock had warmed up from the heat of his mouth. The taste of his skin was slightly different, though, very clean and lacking in any musky odor. Luckily, his cock seemed to work perfectly well, and if anything seemed even more sensitive than Taako was used to. Of course he was also putting out his very best effort. He wanted so badly to please Kravitz, to just blow his mind with how good he could be. 

To that end he released his cock and moved lower, suckling at his balls and drawing them in to his mouth one at a time. Kravitz gasped above him, so he kept at it, working his cock with a hand the whole time. After a while he switched the placement of his hand and mouth, taking his cock all the way into his mouth in one long swallow, until his nose touched Kravitz’s stomach. He held him there, focusing on relaxing his throat to keep from gagging. Kravitz’s hand was back in his hair, clenching tight and pulling a little, which sent a thrill through him. He pulled off, gasping a bit for air, and then did it again, and this time Kravitz bucked up into him a little, forcing the head of his cock into Taako’s throat with a cry and then hot liquid filled his throat as he came. Taako choked slightly, struggling to swallow as Kravitz shuddered beneath him. Taako grasped the cock he’d let fall from his mouth and stroked him the rest of the way through his orgasm, loving the way Kravitz’s gasps became sobs. 

Finally Kravitz went limp and the room grew quiet aside from his panting breaths. Taako watched him, wondering if he even needed air, or if all the gasping and panting was just reflex. He loved the dazed expression on his beautiful face, his parted lips, and arms flung out haphazardly. 

“Good?” he asked finally, knowing the answer but still wanting to hear it. Kravitz blinked and looked up at him, as if struggling to focus.

“So very good,” he said in a low tone, his voice a little rough. Taako grinned and then repositioned himself to lay alongside his lover. He squirmed into place until he head was pillowed on Kravitz’s shoulder. 

“Excellent,” he said, kissing the closest bit of skin to his mouth. “My work here is done, then.” 

Kravitz slid a leg in between Taako’s thighs, pressing against his hard cock. “What about you?” he asked.

“Well, yeah, there’s that,” he agreed. “Still, the important part is done.”

“The important part?” Kravitz sounded puzzled.

“Mmm-hmm. Getting you off, giving you the full Taako experience.” The chest under his head rumbled with a laugh.

“I don’t know if I’ve had the _full_ Taako experience,” Kravitz said.

“Okay, true. There’s more experience to be had. The point is, I really, really wanted to blow you. And I did. Anything else is bonus.” He felt his face heat as he explained. Kravitz shifted and pressed a kiss to his temple. It felt like he was smiling as he did. 

“Well, I still want to return the favor, if that’s ok?”

“Oh, yeah, sure, I’m not saying no,” he replied, rolling onto his back and holding his arms out in a welcoming gesture. Kravitz smiled down at him and Taako almost had to look away from the warmth in his gaze. Kravitz bent low and kissed him, lightly on the lips, just barely pressing his tongue between as if to take a tiny taste. Then he pulled back and looked down on him once more, running his hands down Taako’s chest, sending a shiver through him.

“Am I...too cold?” he asked. Taako shook his head.

“Uh-uh. Nah, it’s kinda nice, actually. I mean...feels different. Not in a bad way.” The hands kept moving over him, circling his pebbled nipples and then grasping them firmly. He let his head fall back as Kravitz lowered his mouth to one, licking and sucking noisily. 

“Fuck, Krav,” he gasped, arching his spine. His cock felt like it couldn’t possibly get any harder, and his hips were thrusting up into empty air, desperately seeking friction. “I take back everything I said. I need you to touch me really bad. Please.” 

Kravitz huffed a laugh against his skin and then obediently trailed a hand down his torso and palmed his erection through his underwear. Taako didn’t even think about holding back his grateful moan. He pushed up into his hand greedily. 

Thankfully Kravitz grasped the waistband of his briefs and pulled them down and off quickly. He knelt next to Taako’s hip and just looked for a moment. In response to Taako’s needy whine, however, he reached out and stroked up his aching cock once. Taako keened, jerking up at the sensation of skin on skin, the strange almost-but-not-quite unpleasant coolness of Kravitz’s hand. He’d thought his dick couldn’t get any harder, but he’d been wrong.

“Please, please Krav, I’m gonna die of not having your gorgeous mouth on me.” That earned him another low chuckle and a wicked glance. Then, thanks the gods, Kravitz bent down and took the head of his cock in his mouth. 

It took all his self-control not to thrust up and push in farther. Kravitz’s mouth felt warm, warmer than his hands at any rate, though not as hot as Taako’s half-remembered memories of other mouths. Kravitz wasn’t moving, just holding his cock between his lips and Taako groaned and reached a hand down to grasp at his thick hair. “Yesss,” he encouraged as he gently pressed on the back of his head, and that seemed to be what Kravitz had been waiting for, because he slid his lips farther down his cock. 

“I’m not gonna last, darlin’,” he warned, willing his lover to speed up. He felt Kravitz’s tongue flick against the underside of his dick and it seemed like he’d gotten the message because he started bobbing in earnest. “Fuck, fuck,” Taako breathed. The longer the blow job went on, the better it got, as if Kravitz was learning what he liked as he went, growing more confident. Until it felt like he was taking Taako apart with his mouth, anticipating exactly what he needed. He couldn’t take much of that treatment before he was grasping desperately at Kravitz’s hair, trying to warn him of his impending orgasm, but not able to find any words. He came in his lover’s mouth, Kravitz sucking hard as he swallowed, Taako keening at how that felt. Kravitz didn’t stop, even when he was completely spent, and he had to tug on his ‘locs hard to get him to finally release him from his mouth. Taako twitched from overstimulation and the aftershocks while Kravitz looked down at him smugly. 

“Now what was the important part?” he said with a smirk. Taako groaned. 

“That was,” he began, pausing to lick his lips and catch more breath, “the fucking best blow job I’ve had in a hundred fucking years. At least.” He thought back. “At least,” he repeated, because he definitely couldn’t remember anything better from before he’d gotten on the Star Blaster. “Fuck.” 

Kravitz flopped down heavily next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. “Yeah?” he asked.

“No question, my dude.”

“I’m glad. It’s the first I’ve given in...a long time. I wasn’t sure if I was rusty.” Taako smiled against his shoulder, curling into him and letting himself relax. 

“If that was rusty, I can’t wait for in-practice Kravitz,” he murmured. He felt himself drifting off to the deep rumble of his lover’s laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> As I said, I was going to have MORE smut but...I've moved on. If I ever get around to it, I'll add more chapters I guess. 
> 
> Hope you liked it, would love to hear how I did with these two, since I haven't written this fandom before.
> 
> You can find me on [Tumblr](http://kimthreerings.tumblr.com) where I mostly post about Yuri on Ice and right at the moment The Penumbra Podcast.
> 
> ETA: Ok I have a new sideblog for TAZ and Penumbra and Critical Role and any other side fandoms I pick up... It's [here,](https://gentlysociallypinned.tumblr.com/) please be my friend.


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